Luke Rodgers has the New York Red Bulls up by a score of 1-0 on the Los Angeles Galaxy at halftime, but he should have had at least one more goal. Incredibly, when Rodgers netted his one goal in the 33rd minute, it was very much against the run of play and it felt undeserved. From that point until the halftime whistle, New York were on top and felt like they should have been able to add to their lead.
New York Red Bulls Vs. Los Angeles Galaxy Live, 2011 MLS: Halftime, RBNY Has 1-0 Lead
In one instance, in particular, Rodgers missed an absolute sitter. After Joel Lindpere played a great ball into the box for Thierry Henry, the Frenchman laid off a ball for Rodgers when he could have shot just as easily. Rodgers had the entire goal at his mercy, but somehow managed to hit the post.
Going the other way, David Beckham has been unbelievably good at playing long balls and through balls into dangerous positions for his teammates, but they've been unable to capitalize. Chad Barrett, in particular, had a very poor first half, squandering a number of good chances. In his same position, it's fair to say that Robbie Keane or Landon Donovan probably would have been able to score.
In the center of midfield, Beckham and Juninho have absolutely won the battle as Rafael Marquez looks a bit lazy. It's generally irresponsible to accuse professional athletes of being lazy when one doesn't interact with them in everyday life, but Marquez has been unbelievably statuesque in the middle, allowing Beckham and Juninho to dictate the pace of the game and play short passes for most of the first half.
Having said that, LA are still trailing and they might not have the quality on their bench to find a goal from the run of play. It’s probably going to take a set piece or a defensive error for Los Angeles to score, even though they’re the better team in the center of the pitch. Barrett just isn’t on his game, while Miguel Lopez and Paolo Cardozo aren’t meant to be finishers.
For more on the two teams, be sure to check out LA Galaxy blog LAG Confidential and Red Bulls blog Once A Metro. For live coverage of Red Bulls-Galaxy and the U.S. Open Cup final between Seattle Sounders and the Chicago Fire later tonight, keep it on our MLS Super Tuesday StoryStream.
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